Opel Breaks Ground on New Design Center Expansion

Opel has announced that it will be investing €11 million toward the expansion of the Design Center located at its global headquarters in Rüsselsheim. Ground was broken by Uwe Baum, Deputy Chairman of the Works Council; Opel Group CEO Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann; Vice President Design Mark Adams; and Richard Bolz, Director Design Operations Europe (pictured above from left to right) in a special ceremony that took place on March 8th.

The expansion of the center is currently scheduled to be completed in June of next year.

“Outstanding design has always been one of the key factors of the Opel brand,” said Dr. Neumann. “The development of the Design Center will give our creative minds new possibilities. That will help us take the next step in our model offensive. It will also further strengthen the position of the Rüsselsheim Design Center as the European lynchpin in global development.”

Opel recently invested €5 million in a high-speed milling center for the Design Center. The continued expansion of design capabilities comes at a time where Opel intends to bring 29 new vehicles to market in five years, starting with the Astra Sports Tourer launching in April.

“The ultra-modern facilities will enable various technologies and techniques—from the clay model to virtual reality or augmented reality models—to be connected and compared to each other, allowing Opel to set standards in this sector internationally,” said Adams.

According to Baum, the new expansion will house more than 80 new employees recently hired on at the European Design Center. The facility will house everything from VR projection equipment and video conferencing systems to a network concept that will ideally allow the employees at the center to interact more quickly and efficiently.